On October 19, 2023, the first Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) James (Jim) Jones, who assumed the role in September 2023, released a written statement revealing his priorities for forging a new, unified Human Foods Program (HFP) within the agency. The same day as the written statement was released, Jones held an invite-only media roundtable to elaborate on his written statement.Food Safety Magazine Editorial Director Adrienne Blume was among the editors and journalists in attendance at the roundtable.
Jones revealed his intent to uphold and execute the HFP and Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) framework set forth by FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. in January 2023, which was informed by an independent evaluation of the agency’s human foods activities conducted by the Reagan-Udall Foundation throughout 2022. Prior to his appointment as Deputy Commissioner, Jones served on the Independent Expert Panel that conducted the operational evaluation of FDA for the Reagan-Udall Foundation.